Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as promotional material for Warner Bros.' theatrical release of Pokémon: The First Movie, timed to the franchise's explosive first wave of American popularity. Nintendo, Game Freak, and 4Kids Entertainment had turned a Japanese video game into a cultural phenomenon, and this trailer served as an early herald of the film's arrival, built from preview footage meant to draw audiences into theaters before the feature itself premiered.
This cell carries Ash Ketchum at a moment framed as a rescue, a scene suggesting peril and resolve central to the character's role as protagonist. Ash collectibles remain popular with fans who trace his journey from the games to the global anime, and a trailer cell like this holds particular interest because it predates the finished film, capturing promotional material rather than the final cut. For collectors, that distinction matters: it preserves an early, fleeting version of the story as it was first pitched to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, the 35mm layout; the strip holds three full consecutive frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top and bottom edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track with two tracks runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint light-blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and the animated style is plausible for the film on record.
Era check
A two-track optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks is consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print, matching a 1999 trailer.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000069969
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
